Frey (Freyr)'s Clique: The Romeos

Frey (Freyr)'s Clique: The Romeos

You know those guys who are always chasing after girls? They write poems for them, serenade them with their guitars – the whole nine yards. The Romeos are the lovesick puppies that mope around the lunch yard and roam the halls, hoping to catch a glimpse of their true love. Although he can be a little promiscuous, Frey is definitely a Romeo. And he’s in good company.

Eros

Another fertility god – this time from the Greco-Roman pantheon – Eros (Cupid) is the god of love, and particularly sex. Like Frey, one of his major myths concerns his star-crossed love for a woman of a different race. Shmoop has the whole story, but here's the gist: Eros’ mother commands him to cause the beautiful, mortal woman Psyche to fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. Instead, Eros falls in love with Psyche himself, but his route to eternal bliss becomes difficult when she breaks a promise to him. So, like Frey, Eros becomes associated not only with love, but with the occasional pain that love is known to cause.

Apollo

Apollo is probably the only Greek god who has major trouble with the ladies. And we mean MAJOR. He once pursued Daphne (daughter of the river god Peneus) so intensely that she actually begged her dad to turn her into a laurel tree forevermore. (We're not kidding: check it out here.) Like Frey, Apollo’s good at a chasing the ladies, but he is rarely successful.

Hades

Hades is the Greek god of the Underworld who is also a little unlucky with ladies. It seems he took a cue from Frey about forceful marriage: he basically kidnapped the beautiful Persephone (daughter of Demeter) and then tricked her into marrying him. Because of this fancy footwork, Persephone must stay in the Underworld for six months of the year. You can read the whole story here.